Can a Home that is Part of a Legal Battle Be Bought and How?

[Benjamin Barredo]

I got a call for a poor old woman that has a tough situation. 

In short, she deeded two of her homes to her son who was being sued by a construction company. The company found out about the properties, included them in what they were going after and the son didn't show up in court to fight the suit and lost. The woman, thinking she could save the homes, deeded them back into her name and got a letter stating she had committed fraud ( I guess this was sent by the same construction company and their lawyers). 

So, she has two houses she wants desperately to sell so she can move away from Tennessee. She lives in one and rents the other. She said she tried to negotiate with the company but hasn't heard from them. This has been in the process for a few years. 

My question is this - Could she sell the homes to someone else or would they have to negotiate the purchase with the construction company? 

What other information do I need to get from her to get a better answer? Does it matter how long the deed was in her sons name? What if it was a few months versus a few years? 

How would you handle this? 

Do you know anyone that I might be able to get her in touch with to get legal advice for cheap or free. She is having a hard time. Her lawyer deals mostly in wills and stuff. I think she might need a real estate lawyer or a trial lawyer, lol, idk. You tell me. 

I hope to get some answers. I'd love to help her out of this situation. 

The homes are "zestimated" at over 130k each. She's willing to give one of them away so I think if it can be worked out this is a potentially killer deal. 

@Jay Hinrichs @Ryan Dossey